


It's a dangerous world

by Confronting_the_faceless



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Corruption, F/M, Harry Potter Next Generation, Revolution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 23:17:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18486460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Confronting_the_faceless/pseuds/Confronting_the_faceless
Summary: "It's a dangerous world and I'm playing a dangerous game." Cathy is powerful, cunning and clever, and she's been contained for too long. Is her secret still safe with the new law or will everything come crashing down?





	It's a dangerous world

“You’re playing a dangerous game Cathy”

  
Catherine Burke looked up from the papers littering her kitchen table with wide eyes. Her dark curls danced with the energy in the air which accompanied her calm demeanour.

  
“How so? It’s a dangerous world.” She replied coolly to her grandmother.

  
Before the interruption Cathy was sitting at her kitchen table drinking black coffee whilst looking at her work. A stranger might have been quite disturbed if they’d witnessed an old lady walking across a watercolour landscape of rolling hills, who then proceeded to sit down on one of the hills, all of this was happening inside the painting which was housed above the kitchen table.

  
“You know exactly what I mean,” replied the old lady.

The papers on the table began to flutter in a breeze which was slowly circling around Cathy, who had decided to ignore her grandmother in the painting, returning to her coffee.

  
The lady looked rather put out - she sniffed and stuck her chin higher in the crisp blue air of the watercolour, the hedgerows around her began to move slightly in a wind which had just appeared, the clouds also began to move above her.

  
“Is everything alright mistress Cathy?” A small, green, rather ugly creature with disproportionate features asked as it came into the room.

  
“Everything is perfectly fine Violet” said the woman in the painting.

  
“Have a seat,” said Cathy, giving a kind smile to the house elf who slid on a chair, then gave her grandmother a sharp glare which was ignored.

  
“Good morning mistress Elizabeth,” Violet gave a slight bow to the lady in the painting.  
Fat, angry raindrops hit the window as it began to rain, casting a dark light upon the room.

  
“I am worried about you Cathy,” Elizabeth began, however Cathy was focusing intently on the swirling brown liquid in her cup.   
“You’ve changed. You’ve thrown yourself into work and more importantly you have dedicated more time to Veritas, which although you are spreading some of the truth and taking a stand against the ministry; the ministry labels it a terrorist publication. You are a clever girl Cathy, and I taught you everything I know – including being constantly vigilant. Yes most of the time you are, dear. But how long will you be able to keep it up? How long until your careful plans and alliances come crashing down?”

  
But Cathy was not listening, she was lost in a haze of memories and dreams. She could hear his voice whispering in her ear, his touch caressing her skin. The stars spinning in the sky, walking down ancient moonlit streets. Her carefully built walls began to crumble. Emotions taunted her until there was nothing left. She remembered what it was like to be loved and to love, which came with the breath-taking ecstasy of the endless possibilities of the future. Cathy remembered the delirious happiness and recklessness; but she also remembered the vulnerability. The raw emotions, the lack of control; the weakness which comes with love and the heartbreak. She knew all to well what that was, for she had given so much, getting nothing back except pain as it has been taken from her grasp.

  
“He was never supposed to die - it was never supposed to be like this! I’d always thought it would be me leaving one way or another, not him. It isn’t fair, but then life isn’t”

  
Her magic began to crackle. It swirled out of her as her tears fell. Emotions exploded, gushing past the newly fallen walls. Her magic became the sea exploding on cliffs. She was powerful – more powerful than ever as she sobbed in the kitchen. The flowers on the table began to wither.

  
Violet placed a small bony hand on Cathy’s shaking arm, “You have a letter from the ministry, Miss Cathy.” A thick envelope was placed on the table with a tissue.

  
The sea began to calm, soon Cathy opened the envelope from the ministry and several papers and booklets fell out. She picked the first piece of parchment up and began to read in the gloom which had been cast into the kitchen by the weather.

  
“Merlin’s soggy balls! Shit! shit! shit!” she exclaimed, her magic firing up again.

  
“What is it?” her grandmother asked.

  
“This can’t be real, it can’t. How didn’t I know? Judith must of known and not told me. Shit.” Without a backward glance Cathy ran out of the room with the letter clutched in her hand, into the pouring rain.

* * *

 

She was soaked to the bone as she apparated to the front gate of a cottage. The cottage was remote, set into a forest yet no birds sang, the only sound was the muffled sound of the rain hitting the forest floor. Cathy paid no attention to the rain as she stormed up the path, even though the ground was waterlogged. She pounded on the small wooden front door with her fists, her magic pulsing.

  
The door was opened by a small, elderly lady, who was wearing checked beige trousers and a knitted jumper with a kitten on. “Ah, hello, I was wondering if you’d come Catherine,” said a voice made weaker by age.

  
“Did you know?” Fired Cathy.

  
“Ah, think you’d better come in dear.”

  
Cathy sat down on a faded floral print sofa, the old lady shuffled back into the room in her green tartan slippers, carrying a tea tray which had moving cats on.

  
“Did you know, Judith?” Cathy demanded.

  
“Yes I did.”

  
“Why didn’t you tell me?” A trace of despair was visible in Cathy’s voice.

  
“What good would it have done?” Judith replied, stirring sugar into her tea. “There’s been a rumour since the war that the ministry was going to introduce a marriage law, it’s only just happened - nearly thirty-five years later. So there was no point in telling you as I wasn’t certain that it would actually happen”

  
“I still don’t understand how people could let this happen.”

  
Judith sighed, “Well, the minister and a few of the people up the top would have supported it. It would have been kept pretty hush-hush anyway, a small group would know and they will be under some oath or vow - so not many people would even know about it. I’m sure some objected but not much would change as the minister had made up his mind and if they pushed it too far they would have to say goodbye to their career.”

  
Cathy sipped her tea, “Do you know their reasons behind it?”

  
“Oh Merlin. I don’t know what their official line is but I understand it’s mainly based on fear – they’re afraid everything is falling apart.”

  
“Little do they know.”

  
“As a magical community our population is falling. There aren’t as many magical children coming from magical families, and I’m using that term loosely – children with at least one magical parent.”

  
“Is less children really a bad thing? Overpopulation is a problem, and they mention nothing about children in the details.”

  
“Overpopulation comes into this as well - the Muggle population is constantly expanding and we are not growing at the same rate as them. As a historian Cathy, you’ll know all about the power of fear,” Cathy smiled at Judith. “it also goes back to the timeless argument of our integration into the Muggle world. As more children are from Muggle families, more muggles are aware of magic, this leads to a slippery slope.”

  
“And it’s not just the ministry who believe that.”

  
“Our risk of exposure increases and the risk of persecution and exploitation also increase. Now going back to children, reading behind the lines, forcing magical couples into marriage means that in the end most couples will have children – like in real life. But these children have magical parents so the problems aren’t there. One of the other key factors is that relationships aren’t lasting anymore – we’re beginning to follow the trend of an increased number of divorces, just like muggles, the law will sort this problem as the traditional vows are being taken. Apart from control, they are reinstating tradition – or the bits they want – the vows will be the traditional ones, which are only breakable by death and infidelity is punishable, usually a combination of humiliation and torture inflicted by the ancient magic curse initiated by the breaking of the vow.”

  
“Merlin, that does sound a bit anti-muggle.” Judith smiled and Cathy continued. “But they can get away with it as they’ve mentioned nothing about muggles or children the official line is some waffle about 'much deliberation..... Falling population......' and all that bullshit. And some won’t even find it that bad, it’s just like the muggle online dating, in the sense that an algorithm or a spell finds who you’d be best matched with depending on the information that the ministry collects each year on us. And it’s only for those aged between twenty four and thirty four who aren’t in a relationship who are matched and if you’re in a relationship and not married you have to get married. By doing this many won’t see it as too controlling as you can marry who the hell you want before you turn twenty four.” Cathy shook her head, “Clever bastards.”

  
Cathy looked at Judith as she was offered a caldron cake. It was quite ironic how old and innocent she looked. You really wouldn’t expect a key figure in a ‘terrorist organisation' to be an old lady with a questionable fashion sense. People underestimate her, they think that she is just a lonely old woman who invites everyone round for tea. Or the slightly nosy cat lady who never had children of her own but seems to know everyone so they think she’s completely harmless with her cat tea tray and endless supply of caldron cakes.

  
“I hope you’ve got a plan,” Judith interrupted Cathy’s thoughts.

  
“Of course I have a plan.”

  
“Good, be careful –.”

  
Cathy interrupted Judith with a twinkle in her eye, “I know, it’s a dangerous world and I’m playing a dangerous game.”

  
“Who have you been paired with?”

  
Cathy let out a bark of laughter, “You won’t believe it – James fucking Potter.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> A.N
> 
> Thank you for reading. Feedback would be much appreciated (especially if there are errors). I have an idea where there is going so I will continue to update.  
> M


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